Downed Dragon
by Thisisentertaining
Summary: This, is Berk. It's five days North of hopeless, and a few wing stokes South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. My enemy. In a word, persistent. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. No matter how many times we tear everything down, they build it back up. There are two sides to every story. This is Toothless'


So, after seeing Toothless destroy the new tail on Gift of the Nightfury, a friend and I became convinced that Toothless has at least a little bit Stockholm syndrome because Toothless kept him hostage, made him dependent on him for food and flight, and showed the dragon kindness while he was still held captive.P-Artsypants disagrees, this is me attempting to prove me and my other friend right.  
Enjoy!

P.S, go check P-Artsypants's work, she has a couple of AMAZING HTTYD fics up!

* * *

This, is Berk. It's five days North of hopeless, and a few wing stokes South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. My enemy. In a word, persistent. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. No matter how many times we tear everything down, they build it back up. They have fish, yak, sheep, and not much else, but it's more than the other islands have. The only problems are the inhabitants. You see, most islands have hunters or gatherers. They have Vikings.

Most predators would give up, go for easier prey. Not us. We're dragons, we have stubbornness issues. I am the Night Fury. Weird Name, I know, but they're humans. Likely to them it sounds impressive. Vikings believe a frightening name will let others know we're dangerous. Like our fire, claws, and wonderful anger management skills wouldn't do that.

Silent as a wraith the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself lands upon the roof of a building. He surveys the dragons and determines if they really need his help. The humans haven't noticed him yet, but the other dragons doubtlessly know he's here, watching on the top of the forge, his usual vantage point. No human looks beyond the hole-that-makes-weapons, none look to its sturdy roof. A low rumble turns in his chest as he watches the poor humans scatter about, trying to protect their puny animals. They were living their lives like any creature, didn't really deserve this. Then again, did the dragons deserve to have the promise of death upon them if they didn't appease the appetite of the Great One, and the threat of death even while they attempted to find sustenance for the Beast.

The Night Fury alone was safe from having to feed the monster. He had never taken food from the village and likely never would. He did not bring the beast food, instead he was tasked with watching those who would. Some days he felt like a glorified baby sitter, others like a cruel enforcer, wrapped around the tyrants finger. Most days, he knew that he was both, and that it was what he needed to be in order to survive. To help others to survive as well. The village could not withstand his attacks. They feared him, focused too much energy on him, leaving the others to pillage for food. It had been months, since the Great One had last eaten a dragon for not satisfying his demands, and it was all thanks to him. It didn't mean that he had to like it.

The Nightfury watched as a tiny human, a child probably, was tossed around the village before being thrown into the forge by the human's Great One. The Human Great was the largest of them all. They say that as a baby he popped a dragon's head clean off. Did the Nightfury believe it? Yes he did. The jet-black dragon watched as the man threw a cart at a Boulder-Biter, or the human word for it Gronckle, which was a much worse name than Nightfury Thank you very much.

He growled when the Boulder-Biter didn't get back up. His dragons were well matched. Seemed he'd have to interfere after all. The striker dragon silently flew to the sky, waiting to get some distance away before bolting across the night sky, preparing a plasma blast in his mouth to give his shot through the night enough sound to garner the attention of the deaf humans. It did the trick. All eyes were on him as his plasma blast set fire to one of their dens, the other dragons largely ignored. The Vikings continued fighting after a moment, but continued to have their attention divided.

The dragon struck again, lightning fast and nearly invisible against the night sky. He struck with accuracy, insight, and most importantly force. The humans were panicking, the dragons had nearly all gotten something to offer. Everything was going according to plan. Then, there was an unnatural clack. And suddenly the Night Fury couldn't move his arms or legs and he was falling, falling, falling, right into the heavily wooded forest outside of the humans he whose village he'd just destroyed. He crashed through the trees, felt a horrible, terrible, searing pain in his tail, and could not move no matter how hard he tried. Mind fuzzy with pain and limbs bound by human invention, the mighty Nightfury finally gave up struggle and waited for the vengeful human who had captured him to arrive. For the first time he could remember, the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself felt fear.

* * *

Hours later that fear had turned to a muted hopelessness. His mind was clearer, but the pain was still there; a throbbing, searing agony from his tail. Even if he managed to get out of the wraps keeping him trapped, which did not seem at all likely, he had no clue what the damage was to his tail or how it would affect him. At best, it would make his flight wobbly and disconcerting, but still manageable. At worst, he was grounded. Either way he would be no match for a hoard of Vikings trained to slay dragons, all of whom would be foaming at the mouth for the chance to say they killed the Nightfury.

The dragon slipped his eyes closed and tried to think of something, anything, to distract from the mirroring agony in his tail and heart. He refused to open his eyes even as he heard the footsteps of a Viking coming close. He had to bite back a stab of shame. The mighty Nightfury, brought so low that they didn't think it fit to send more than one warrior to kill him. The mighty beast didn't bother to open his eyes until the human was upon him, feeling a smarting of disgust at the sight. They had sent a child to him. Shaming him even as he died, was this the way of the Vikings. He thought they had more honor than that.

Yet in the end it didn't matter. This single child could kill him. The boy would kill him, with that tiny knife he brought. There was nothing that the dragon could do to stop it, prevent it, or even give himself a few extra moments to live. In the end, as the boy began to chant, almost to himself, that he was a Viking and therefore born to kill dragons, the Nightfury found he had no more strength to look certain death in the face. He slowly closed his eyes and waited to the knife to fall. He could hear the boy's fear, his hesitation, but it was as the boy said. He was a Viking, and Vikings slayed dragons.

Which was why the beast's eyes shot open in surprise as the knife fell, but cut through rope rather than scales. Within second the sharp blade did what all of his thrashing could not, and the loose ropes fell from his body, setting bound limbs free. The Nightfury immediately leapt, all instinct and no intelligence as he pinned the boy to a rock. The youth was looking up at him with large brown eyes and the dragon felt himself falter. The boy was just as scared as he was. The striker dragon roared loud and long, letting the boy know that he was not to be messed with and that further attempts to ensnare him would be met with a much harsher fate, before bounding away. He felt a certain degree of shame as he left. The only dragon that _could not _kill a Viking.

* * *

The Nightfury felt despair coiling in his chest as he once again launched himself into the air, only to grow so unsteady that he crashed into the ground. He thrashed his tail in anger, ignoring the burst of pain that came with the action. It was as he had feared, he couldn't fly, not with his tail as it was. He could never go back to the Great One, no matter how long or compelling it's call. He could not leave Berk. And as if it were not bad enough that he was stuck on an island of dragon killing Vikings, he couldn't even seem to get out of this basin. The walls were too tall and too smooth, the only opening much too small for his large body. And, as one final failed flight attempt proved, he wasn't going to be flying out any time soon.

Starving, the creature snapped at the fish in the pond, the basins one mercy. Yet exhaustion and hunger proved his undoing, and he was not fast enough to win his dinner. The Nightfury curled upon himself with a mournful cry, trying to convince himself to sleep. It seemed that the Viking child's mercy wouldn't matter. Be it at the hands of the Vikings who would eventually venture this far or by starvation, he would soon die anyway.

As if conjured by his thoughts, an unfamiliar sound intruded upon the dragon's natural cage. The beast rose his head to lock eyes with the boy. He kept his gaze upon the human's eyes, as if to show the human the full extent of what he did.

* * *

The next day the Nightfury is cranky, hungry, and 90% certain that the boy was the one who had trapped him in the first place. He was cranky because there were no caves in this cove, only tiny trees, and a thunderstorm the night before, which all added up to him getting very little sleep. He was hungry because the storm only raised the water lever, making the fish even harder to catch.

Finally he was certain that the boy was the trapper because there was no other explanation as to how the dragon was still alive. If the village knew, they certainly wouldn't have sent a child alone to kill him. The chief would come, probably half the village, to at least observe if nothing else. Even if they did, inexplicably, send the boy alone they would be expecting the boy to return with proof that he had killed the Nighfury. Which the boy obviously didn't have because the dragon was still alive. The people would not accept that the boy had lost him or couldn't find him, and they most certainly would not let him get away with letting the dragon go. That meant that the village didn't know. Which meant it was the human boy's fault.

The Nightfury wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, it showed that the boy was intelligent. He had never heard of a weapon the likes of which had taken him down. The rocks with ropes? Yes, he'd seen them plenty, but never with such distance and accuracy. Also, if it had been any other Viking he would be dead. Then again, no other Viking would have been able to catch him. He mustn't forget that. That boy was the reason his tail was ruined. He was the reason the dragon would never fly again. The human was the reason he would die trapped, in pain, and starving. He couldn't forget that. This was all the boy's fault.

The Nightfury's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of someone stumbling in the woods. He growled lowly. Ever since he'd spotted the human watching him, preening about trapping him in this cage no doubt, he'd kept his senses alert for the human's return. He hadn't been disappointed. Wiry muscles moving under supple black scales, the dragon moved into position. The Viking boy could come all he like, the dragon would be ready for him from now on.

The fiery creature crouched, ears straight up as they tracked the human's movements. He could see the whole cove from his vantage point on these rocks, and it was in a coorner, a spot that the eye naturally glanced over. He would see the human, but the human would not see him until he wished it. The beast said made no noise when a fish landed a few feet from where the sounds stopped. He knew that the boy was not far behind. Just as he expected, the boy barely wasted a moment before slipping through the crack in the rocks that was much too small for the dragon to use as his own escape.

The child wandered into the cove, eyes searching wildly for the dragon he had caged. The Nightfury waited until the boy was directly across from his couching spot to make himself known, growling lowly as he unwound himself from the rock and crouched to the floor. The boy was clutching the fish to his chest as though it were something of security, and the dragon growled once more. Just like a dragon to boast of food when a dragon was hungry. He was going to starve and the boy, the boy who had torn him from the sky, hurt him, offered him what looked like freedom only to let him fall into a trap, that boy would watch him die. How dare-

The boy held out the fish and all rational thought left him. The dragon's stalk lost any intimidation as confusion and hopefulness softened his gaze and made him cock his head. The creature's low, controlled motions became sloppier, more casual. Was the human offering to feed him? Really? He couldn't be, this was a Viking child. But… but it was Viking child who hadn't killed him. Outright at least. He was keeping him in this cove, but… but if the boy captured him, it meant that he wanted the Nightfury alive right? If he could just stay alive long enough, maybe he could escape. He wouldn't live without food though, and his only option was to accept the food his captor offered, uneasy as he was to do so.

Hesitantly the dragon opened his mouth to accept the fish, only to recoil with a snarl as he caught sight of the knife still sitting in the human's belt. So that was it then, the Viking didn't want to kill a bound dragon, he wanted to make a sport of it, keep the dragon captive until it was weak enough to kill, but still strong enough to fight. All Vikings were the same they just-

Once again the Nightfuy found himself completely incapable of thought as the human kicked the knife away, leaving him armed with nothing but a fish against the might of the Nightfury. With a gulp that served to strengthen the human's resolve, the boy held out the fish once more. Slowly, but with less misgiving and more confusion than before, the dragon slunk forward to accept the meal, heart beating hard and fast in his chest.

"Huh." The human murmured as the dragon neared. "Toothless. I could have sworn you had-"

The striker dragon felt a thrill of humor as he chose that moment to reveal his teeth and snap up the offered snack. The boy was left gasping and gaping, awed at his speed. The dragon straightened, sniffing the air for food. The human fell back, scooting back to a rock as the Nightfury slunk to him, much to the dragon's amusement. The Nightfury was the only dragon that couldn't kill a Viking. If was going to kill the boy, then he'd be dead by now. Still the human child continued to attempt to slink away, promising that he had no more food. As if the Nightfury couldn't already see that.

Still, the Nightfury was a polite dragon, even to kidnapping Vikings, and the rules of dragons promised that if one shares food with you, then you likewise share it with them. Just because he was being held captive didn't mean he would lose the basic foundation of what separated the dragons from the mindless beasts.

Obviously, the Vikings had no such courtesy among them, for the human looked up at the dragon with outright confusion, even revulsion. Though, granted, that could have been the dragon spit. The boy still looked so scared though, his body not half the size of the rock, which the Nightfury could pulverize with a single blast. He didn't want the human so afraid. He had brought him food after all, after capturing you in the first place, a voice inside of the dragon's head shouted insistently, but the creature ignored it and chose to sit back to give the human room, adopting a more human position in attempt to help put the boy at ease.

Still the boy seemed uncertain what he wanted. Maybe the human wasn't as intelligent as he'd thought. Pity. The striker glanced at the fish then back at the boy, hoping he'd understand that he meant to share. Evidently the boy did, for he slowly bit into the fish. Strange, the Nightfury thought humans cooked their fish. Huh. Learn something new every day. Still the dragon waited for the boy to swallow, to finish the act of sharing that was sacred to all dragons. He felt strangely content when the child did. Odd, why did he care so much about the actions of his captor? Perhaps it was just to reassure himself. The Great One never shared. Maybe he was trying to convince himself that this captivity was better than his former one.

Of course it was. This one was temporary. He just had to conserve his strength, play nice with the captor until he could escape. Then all of Berk would be available to him. Speaking of making nice, the boy was doing the non-threatening-baring-of-teeth-thing that humans did. If the dragon remembered correctly from watching the creatures, he was meant to reply in turn. Maybe it was a sacred ceremony similar to that of sharing. If that was so, then the human didn't ignore his people's traditions, he shouldn't ignore his.

The dragon attempted to lift his lips while keeping his mouth mostly closed, watching the human's mouth as guidance. It seemed to work, the human looked happy. But then he began to stand, one hand reaching out as though to touch the Nightfury and that was where he drew the line. Keeping his captor happy was one thing, but this? No, he would not let the human touch him. He would not!

With a flap of his wings he flew across the cove, landing heavily in an embarrassed heap before scorching the ground to give himself a comfortable place to nest. A bird in the tree overhead to flight at that very moment, as though proud to show that it could do what the mighty dragon no longer could. The Nightfury followed the tiny creature with his eyes as it left, until he noticed the persistent human sitting beside him. The dragon huffed his disapproval and curled up, moving his tail up to cover his face in an obvious dismissal.

Apparently not obvious enough. He could hear the boy scooting nearer, and when he finally moved his tail, he found the boy's hand outstretched, attempting to touch him again, this time aiming for the injury. At least the boy seemed to get the hint, quickly walking away under the force of the Nightfury's glare. Still the dragon moved, heading to the trees where he could roost and hopefully finally sleep. He couldn't make himself stay on the scorched grass, his resting place defiled with the thought of curious human hands reaching for him. Vikings didn't touch dragons, they killed them. Then again, they didn't feed them either, and this boy did. Maybe he wasn't so bad, this Viking child. Maybe… No. No, it was this human's fault that he was in here. The dragon was not befriending the boy, he was placating him until escape was possible, that was all. The Nightfury used these last words as a chant as he fell asleep, but something in the back of his mind worried that he wouldn't believe it for long.

When the dragon awoke it was almost night, and still the human was there. He was sitting on a rock, playing with the dirt. Despite himself, despite knowing that he should probably stay away from the human unless necessary, the dragon was intrigued. What could the human be doing that held his focus so completely?

The beast made his way over to the human, surprised to see him making designs in the dirt with a stick. The Nightfury's amazement only grew as the scribbles turned into something that looked remarkably like his reflection in the water. The human had used dirt and a tick and made… him! It was amazing! It… looked like fun!

The dragon hurried to find a stick, okay so it was bigger than the humans, but that made sense. And it might have had leaves on it still, and not been completely… out of the ground, but he was excited. He began running the end of his stick ito the ground, greating a deep groove as he made his picture. The dragon excitedly watched as a picture formed, occasionally glancing at the human to make sure it looked right. Finally he dropped the stick, and a crude depiction of the human remained. Pride burst into the dragon's chest. He made this, he did this.

The human seemed to find it equally amazing, staring at the lines with amazed eyes. That is, until he _stepped on one. _The Nightmare himself was surprised by the growl that ripped from his throat at the action, and the human stepped back in surprise and fear. But then, he _did it again. _Ripping another snarl out of the dragon that only ended when the human stepped back. The Viking did it one, final time before _finally _figuring it out that the dragon didn't like when he did that. So the boy focused on his feet as he weaved his way out of the mass of scribbles, not noticing as the motion brought him closer to the Nightfury, though the dragon certainly did. The beast couldn't say why he didn't move as the human neared, it was obvious enough that the boy was coming closer to him. But he remained still, watching at the Viking's weaving got him closer and closer.

Finally the boy escaped the maze, only to end up with his back mere feet from the Nightfury's chest. The boy jumped back slightly, but then once more rose a hand as if to touch the creature. Immediately the Nightfury lifted his lip in a snarl. He still had no desire to make contact with his captor, even if he did just create his image in the ground. But then, then the human turned his head away and rose his hand. Not demanding touch, offering it, giving him a choice. And the dragon knew that in a situation like this, where he was not able to leave, where he was given whatever food the human wished to feed him, he knew how important this choice was. And really, what could it hurt. The human obviously wanted it badly, would it be so bad to give into him, make his captor happy?

So, with one final pause of hesitation, the dragon bridged the gap and allwed his nose to touch the offered palm. Immediately, it was if that simple contact sent something through him, something foreign but powerful. Something that he hadn't felt in years, not since the Great One had degreed him deputy and the other dragons began to avoid him, full of respect but with no desire for kinship. Suddenly he couldn't be near the human anymore, and as he opened his eyes to lock gazes with the human, he pulled back and darted away, swift as the wind.

* * *

Apparently, as uneasy as it made him, letting the human touch him had been the right thing to do, because the next day he came with a whole barrel of fish. Unfortunately, he also brought a new name. Apparently the dragon had been dubbed Toothless. Which was stupid really, hadn't he shown the boy that he did actually have teeth? Whatever, he wouldn't be here for long anyway. The boy kicked over the barrel as he neared, revealing a pile of fish and-

The dragon hissed in disgust and horror at the sight of the eel, backing away from the food. Some part of him felt betrayed by the human, but how does ones kidnapper betray them? It made no sense. Not that he was exactly capable of the best thought when there was an _eel_ in with what the human apparently intended as his meal. However, his fury ended as the human kicked the beast away, and Toothless immediately begun to eat. He'd only had that half-fish to eat in days, and now he was absolutely _starving. _The dragon ignored the Viking as he ate. After all, there were more important things to focus on, like food. And fish. And food. However, all too soon it was gone, and Toothless found his head in the basket, desperately searching for just one more fish.

His head was still in the barrel when he felt it. It felt like… his tail. Like it was whole, unfurled, and ready. It felt as if he could fly again, every muscle in his body tense and ready to take off. And then he did. At first it was as if there had been no difference, as if the feeling had been nothing more than a phantom pain, but then, instants before he would have crashed once more into the hard, unforgiving ground, it was like he was whole again and he was shooting to the sky. Pure, unfettered joy felt as though it would burst through his chest. He'd condemned himself to the ground so now, as he met the sweet, free sky once more, he never wanted to land. Something he'd never dared to even consider to hope had come true. In joy the dragon glade over the meager pond of his cage, vowing to never return. He was free again, he'd escaped the viking-

A yell from behind distracted the dragon, and he looked back to see the human clutching his tail. The beast rolled his eyes. Now that he could fly he was hopeful to never see there persistent, meddling human again. With a flick of the tail he cast the human off, and immediately found himself careening into the water, skidding across on momentum before he finally sank.

The human left soon after, leaving the dragon to seethe. So the human didn't completely take away his ability to fly, but he'd somehow made it so that he could only fly when the human wanted. That was almost worst. He'd never been dependent on anyone before, and he didn't want to start now. He could sense it in the human, the boy wanted to train him like some beast of burden, used to travel distances like one of their boats. The human would make him to be as mindless as the yak that pulled plows. The dragon growled to himself as he made himself a smoldering nest. He didn't like this. Didn't like it one bit. Even if he was more full than he'd been since the Great One took over.

* * *

Toothless was unimpressed the next day when the human arrived with a flat… human-thing. He'd studied his "fixed tail" in the morning light, and decided that the human had used a different human-thing to control his flight. This human-thing would doubtless grant him even more control, and the dragon did not want that.

However, at some point the chase became less about avoidance, and almost became fun. So much so that when the human finally managed to catch up with him, Toothless didn't remember to fight off the human-thing until it and the boy were both on his back. And suddenly he could fly again, and that was almost worth everything. Even if it had to be with this human, he was in the sky once more. Unfortunately, he was right about the flat thing giving the human more control. It allowed him to control the tail, choose what direction they would fly. The Viking was very, very bad at it. By the day's end Toothless had crashed a total of sixteen times. Something he would have been more upset about if the human hadn't crashed that same amount.

* * *

The next day's flying was a little better. They managed to get out of the cove before crashing, which they had never managed the day before. It was made much more bearable when they crashed into an _entire field _of happy grass. Toothless managed to steal hours rolling in the grass before the human forced himself back into the cage. The Nightfury blames the happy grass for impairing his thought process. There was no other explanation for why he allowed the human to lead him back so easily.

* * *

A few days later, after they had given up on crashing practice for the day (calling it flying practice would be too generous), the Viking boy was scratching Toothless before he left for the night and he hit _that spot, _the ones dragons couldn't reach_. _Immediately it was as though the dragon had turned to absolute mush, his muscles losing all strength as he melted into the ground. The dragon rumbled contentedly, hoping that his human would do that every night.

* * *

Something strange invaded his cove the next day. It was a creature unlike he'd ever seen before, skirting across the floor with unmatched speed, able to scale any kind of wall and even walk upon water. It was an amazing creature, bright as the sun and oh-so-good evading his grasp. Even when it looked as though his claws had landed directly on the creature, he felt nothing and would soon spot the small being a small distance away. Though he chased all day, he never once managed to capture the beast. It must have been a pet of His human, for when the boy left, so did the creature, and Toothless was left alone as night fell once more.

The dragon twisted and turned on his nest, unable to sleep as his mind raced. He always seemed to be alone when he'd served the Great One along with the other dragons. His position hadn't leant well to friends, and his kin were all gone. He was used to being alone, or at least he had been used to it. Why did he feel so lonely whenever his human left?

Try as he might, the creature could find no easy answer. It was a mystery, as were many things about His Human. It still boggled the beast why the human hadn't killed him that first day. Though, now after days in his company the Nightfury couldn't say which seemed more surprising, that the boy hadn't killed him or that he'd attacked him in the first place. The boy rarely smelled of others, and Toothless had never seen him battling when he watched the humans fight his kind. Maybe… maybe his human was lonely too.

* * *

As always, the human brought food when he wanted to mess with his tail. The dragon didn't mind. It never hurt, and if the human wanted to bring him extra food, he certainly wasn't going to complain.

His Human hadn't brought the bright pet again, but he seemed to think whatever he'd done to the tail would help their flying practice to actually take place in the air and was encouraging him to take flight. Toothless was much less certain, but was always up for being in the sky and allowed the human to work his tail as he rose up out of the cove to crash on top of the earthen wall where the human directed. It seemed that the Viking had more intelligence than the average Axe-wielding Wildman, because rather than just trying to jump in the air only to fall again, his human tethered the human-thing that kept him on the dragon's back to a log, and worked on his part in controlling the tail. It worked until the tether snapped, and the dragon found himself in the now extremely familiar position of being crumpled on the ground.

Only this time he'd seemed to pick up on an accessory. The human groaned at the sight of the ring that he'd tied, keeping the two bound together, and Toothless decided that he'd given his human's intelligence too much credit too soon.

All of these events somehow led to him, the Nighfury one of Viking's most hated dragons, following the boy through the human village. Only one thought ran through the dragon's mind: this is a horrible idea. Okay, that's a lie. He was also completely burning with curiosity. He'd never seen the village when it was so peaceful. Whenever he'd been there it was a battleground full of screams and roars and the clanking of weapons or claws on flesh. It was always alight with houses on fire, flaming dragons and explosion. The air had always smelt of blood and smoke. Taking a deep breath the dragon decided that that part at least had been better before.

He felt excitement thrill through him when a man greeted his human. A Viking acting civil, not trying to mace anyone's head off; it was incredible! His eyes followed the man even as his human began dragging him away, though they didn't stay there long. His gaze was constantly roving as he attempted to take in all of the sights of a Viking home during peace. His human led him into a human den, where he found the welcome sight of a bucket. Unfortunately, it was empty of food and the dragon quickly tossed it away.

His human was trying to cut through the tether when a noise brought the human's head up and the scent of fear permeated the air.

"Hiccup? Are you in there?"

The boy moved swifter than even the Nightfury ever had, outside the doors of the human den before the dragon could blink, and suddenly the dragon was pressed against the door, barely able to shift because of the uncut tie.

"Astrid, hey." His human said, scent of fear still prevalent. Toothless decided he didn't like this female human. "Hi Astrid, Hi Astrid, hi Astrid."

The dragon eyed the crack, attempting to see the human that scared his human so much. He didn't like this human, especially if she hurt his human, then he would- sheep. The dragon had turned his head in attempt to get a better angle and he'd found a sheep sitting outside the human den, watching him. It was less than twenty yards away, and it had been _so _long since he'd eaten anything but fish. And it wasn't even running. He had to have it.

"I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird."

He pulled, heading to his meal, and heard his human huff behind him as the movement pulled the boy closer to the door.

"Well, weirder."

His human groaned as Toothless strained even further for the fluffy delicious feast, and finally the doors gave. The dragon had just enough time to snap up his wooly treat before his human jumped onto his back and they began to flee the village until they were safely in the cove beyond.

The dragon whined when the human left again. He was obviously going back to the village, what if the scary female was still there? But the thought didn't seem to matter much to the human, and soon he was gone.

* * *

The next several days were filled with flying practice by day, and long, lonely nights in which Toothless pondered the odd human he'd been saddled with. The flights were getting more and more successful, but the dragon was nowhere near understanding His Human any more the last night than the first.

Most aggravatingly, Toothless could not make up his mind on whether the human was intelligent or not. Yes, the boy had managed to capture and ground him, but by now the dragon was sure that it was at least partially an accident. Grounding him probably was, at least, shooting him out of the sky had been obviously intentional. But his human wouldn't have intentionally kept him from something as glorious as flight, as vital as the ability to take to the sky. His Human would never do something like that, he was a Viking, but he'd proven himself kind, friendly. He wouldn't do that. The dragon shook himself, as if to cast the notion away, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that insisted he'd felt very differently a few days before.

Anyway, intelligence. The boy had somehow managed to figure out how to help him fly again, and though he needed A LOT practice his human hadn't been terrible at it for an earthbound creature. Although his plan of just jumping up and flying until they crash repeatedly left a lot to be desired, he was obviously trying.

The dragon purred low in his throat in amusement and shifted. Humans were strange. He was almost asleep again when a revelation brought him startling to full wakefulness. When had the small Viking become _His Human_? Unease spread throughout his chest as he realized that he hadn't thought of escape in days, hadn't worried about survival. The flying, scratching, eating, playing with His- the- the human, it had all been completely voluntary. He'd not been coerced, hadn't felt it necessary or as means to an end. He'd done it because he'd wanted to, because it was fun. Rumbling uncertainly the creature settled to sleep again, the thought overturning in his head that even if his tail were magically whole and he no longer depended on His human, he would not leave the boy's side. The thought didn't worry him nearly as much as it should have, and that was what worried him most of all.

* * *

As usual, any morbid thoughts from the night before disappeared when the boy returned the next day, replaced with joy and a certain peacefulness. So what if he didn't want to escape anymore? It meant he was happy here, right? Even if he couldn't leave, even if his food was decided upon and doled out by another, even if he had no freedom to speak of, he had His human. That made everything worth it, that friendship. He cared for His Human, and His Human obviously cared for him. He brought the dragon food, brought treats, the boy pet the Nighfury and scratched him in the special spot, let him fly. Yes, the boy cared for him, the dragon knew it.

Just like now, His Human had brought another whole barrel of fish, which Toothless devoured as the Viking did something to with his tail. As ever, their timing was impeccable, the last of the food done just as the boy was ready to fly.

"Okay there bud," His Human said with a pat to his neck, "We're going to take this nice and slow." The boy began mumbling about position, something he'd been doing lately that the dragon had largely opted to ignore. A shift sounded and the Nightfury instinctively looked back, pleased to see that the human actually had his tail facing the right way for once. Good. Maybe they wouldn't end up in the water this time.

After the trip to the village they'd spent several days practicing flying, and though they were far off from the effortless flight of before, the human was getting much better. The pair glade through the air, and the dragon felt the euphoria only flight could bring. The wind pressed against his wings, the sun fell on his scales. He loved this.

The boy exclaimed in excitement as they flew through an arch, and the dragon realized that while he'd been grounded for the past few weeks, the human had been grounded for his whole life. He'd never felt the freedom, the euphoria of flight. The dragon allowed himself to fly a little faster, let the boy experience the thrill.

And apparently that was a bad idea, for the human almost immediately crashed him into a wall. Oh well, they'd lasted about a minute. It must have been a record.

"Sorry!"

Toothless snarled at the boy, but that did stop him from crashing again.

"My fault."

An ear shot up to hit the boy in reply.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Position 4, uh, 3."

Immediately the dragon found himself facing up. Oh, this could be fun. Apparently the boy thought so too, he was shouting and cheering, and just variously sounding like he enjoyed flying where they were in no danger of finding anything to crash into and could go as fast as they could. Suddenly, the sounds of joy turned to one of terror and His Human was flailing. Initially, the dragon couldn't figure out why. Then he slowed his flight, allowing himself to just float for a second. He heard a sound near his head and looked up, curiosity turning to absolute terror when he saw His Human floating above him and _not on his back_!

The dragon could only growl and snarl in absolute terror as he freefell to the earth, knowing that he had gone to high, his tail was ruined, he was going to die. So was the boy screaming beside him. The human was yelling, almost as if he expected the Nightfury to be able to be able to hear over the rushing wind. He was flailing, spinning, on the way to death, and then suddenly his human was _there_, on his back, and the familiar weight was enough to ground him, to give him the clarity to spread his wings wide and slow his descent. His tail unfurled and suddenly they were weaving through the rocks, nearly able to read the other's mind as flight became instinctual, effortless, the way it should be. No, it was almost more.

As they cleared the rocks and made it to clear sky over the sea, His Human shouted, a sound of pure joy and relief. Toothless agreed heartily. They hadn't died, they'd managed to fly together, they were going to be okay. As the Viking's cry died down, the dragon copied the sentiment by letting loose with a single plasma blast. He heard a low "Oh no" from the human and remembered only as he flew into the blast that humans were as fireproof as dragons. Oops.

In apology he gave shared his food with the boy as they relaxed after a truly hectic flight. Though His Human seemed to prefer the one he was roasting over a fire's flames. He'd thought that was how they liked it.

The Nightmare snarled over his remaining meal as a trio of Smallscales flew into his cove, all eyeing his feast. He didn't know how they got off acting so hungry all the time. They didn't even give anything to the Great One, so all their food was theirs. They certainly weren't getting any of his. Toothless glowered as they fought over the fish he'd tried to share with his Human, but he'd given it to His Human and if he wanted to let the scavengers take it, then it was his choice.

He for one wasn't going to let any of them steal his food. The dragon growled when one of the beasts tried to drag one of his fish out of the pile, ripping the food out of the smaller dragon's mouth and swallowing it down, laughing at the creature in victory. The Smallscale dared to growl at him, kicking back it's legs as if it thought it actually had a chance in a fight. It barely took half a plasma blast to the creature's mouth to send it scampering away.

"Huh," His Human said. "Not so fireproof on the inside." And then he gave the pest a fish. Toothless grumbled quietly to himself. If you fed the aggravating things they'd just keep coming back. See, now it was cuddling up to the Viking, looking for seconds.

"Everything we know about you guys, is wrong!" The boy said in amazement. Toothless snorted. He could have told the boy that. But then, a lot of things the dragon had thought about him were wrong too.

* * *

Toothless stretched from his sleep as he heard his human's voice, one eye looking to track the position of the sun. His Human was early. Slowly he stretched and slunk out of his nest only to freeze. His human groaned as though in pain, then words floated through the air and the Nightfury's misgiving wasn't His Human's voice. He took the last few steps until he could see and a growl rumbled in his throat. His Human wasn't alone, the scary female was there as well. As the dragon watched the female yelled and attacked His Human, tackling him to the ground.

_How dare she! _Toothless saw red as he lunged, determined to pry the female Viking off of His Human. She responded just how every other Viking would, rolling away from his human with an axe, ready to meet her death with a weapon in hand. And it would be her death, Toothless hadn't been able to kill His Human, but this girl had hurt His Human and he would not allow that. But even as the dragon leapt the boy was there, pulling the other human out of the way and standing between them, refusing to let Toothless through to his prey. No matter how the dragon turned or lunged, His Human was there, protecting the girl and spouting comforting but useless babble. Toothless couldn't hurt His Human, and so he forced himself to settle when the boy proclaimed the girl a friend. Yeah right.

He didn't believe they were friends. Toothless and His Human were friends, and Toothless would never hurt His Human and His Human would never purposely hurt him. He didn't like this girl, and he made that obvious even as His human's hand on his head kept him from making any move against her.

"You scared him!" His Human claimed. As if. The Nightfury feared no Viking.

"I scared him?" The girl asked, incredulous. "Wait, who is him?"

"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid."

The Nightfury snarled, making sure to show his teeth, promising death if the girl hurt His Human again. Luckily, the girl was smarter than she looked and ran away. As Toothless watched the retreating Viking he lost intrest.

"Da-da-da! We're dead." And Toothless knew that tone. The human wanted to go after the girl, to try and "fix" something. Well, the Nightfury did not want to go after the girl. He turned and left the boy. If His Human wanted to go after the girl, then he could. The girl was human, he was human, he could catch her. "Woah, where do you think you're going?"

Toothless rolled his eyes, but as His Human began scrambling after him and listing all of the reasons why they should go after the female and the dragon finally turned and allowed the boy to mount him just to shut the human up. Besides, maybe if they went after the girl she would give him an excuse to attack that even His Human couldn't deny.

It was terrifyingly easy to catch up with the female human, despite her head start. The girl jumped over a log and it was hatchling's play to catch her in the air, gripping the human in his claws as he took to the air once more. The dragon almost wanted to chuckle at the pure terror in her voice as he flew, as if he would drop her. No, His Human wanted her and Toothless would be careful to keep her. For now at least.

He got the picture as His Human directed him to a tree, and dropped the girl onto a branch as he roosted on the tree. The girl swayed as his weight upset the tree.

"Hiccup!" She shouted, and Toothless took a moment to wonder why the Vikings always spoke about the funny cough-noise whenever His Human near. "Get me down from here!"

Toothless could help with that, get her down very quickly.

"Not until you give me the chance to explain."

"I am not listening to anything you have to say!"

"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you. Please Astrid."

And now the female was getting on his back. Great, just to make this day perfect. Well, he wasn't some ride. He would show her.

"Now get me down."

"Toothless, down. Gently."

Yeah, not going to happen.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of."

The Nightfury shot into the sky with all the power and speed that he possessed, aiming straight for the sky at top speed.

"Toothless!" His Human yelled, barely audible over the female Viking's screams of terror. "What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!"

This was fun. He hadn't allowed himself to go this fast before with His Human, and the annoying female's screams just made it all better. Besides, if His Human wanted to stop the girl from going to the other humans, then taking her down wouldn't work anyways, and Vikings loved adrenaline and fear. If they didn't then they wouldn't fight dragons. Sometimes it was better to just trust the dragon.

"He's uh, he's not usually like this." His Human promised just as Toothless banked his wings for a sky roll. "Uh oh." Toothless let himself fly upside down, not righting himself until he was mere feet from the surface of the sea, and even then he didn't rise into the sky, but allowed himself to dive under the water. He wondered if the female ever wasn't screaming, was she screaming when he went underwater? He dove again, just to see, and His Human yelled at him. "What are you doing? We want her to like us!"

Oh. So His Human wanted the girl to _like_ him. That was interesting, but it made sense. Dragons never seemed to be able to think after they met a particular one of the opposite sex. Huh. Well, Toothless didn't approve. He tore through the sky and began spinning through the air.

"And now with the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

The Nightfury straightened out and began flying away, mind spinning trying to decide what to do next, but before he could do anything, the female's voice sounded. "Okay, I'm sorry, I am sorry. Just let me off of this thing."

A Viking apologizing? Well, maybe she wasn't so bad. And if His human liked her, well he couldn't have that bad of tastes right? The female probably wasn't so bad. The dragon straightened his wings out, turning his spinning dive into a glide, aiming for the sunset over the sea as he floated over the currents. He floated to the clouds and heard the girl's terrified gasps halt as wonder caught her breath in her throat. The beast allowed a small pang of guilt to stab at his chest. He'd made the girl fear something as incredible as flight. Even if he did not regret his actions, he did regret that. No one should feel such fear from something that brought such beauty.

They continued the slow, peaceful flight until well into the night, and Toothless showed them the wonders even His Human had yet to see because he left so early each day. The Skylights glowed blue, green and purple in the sky, and Berk was gorgeous at night with only fires and lanterns visible and the smell covered by the salty scent of the sea. Toothless looked back to see the pure wonder and joy on the female's face and had to smile. He could never long hate someone who found such joy in flight.

"Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool."

Toothless purred low in his throat. He knew it.

"This is amazing."

He knew.

"He's amazing."

He knew.

"So what now?"

That, Toothless didn't know.

"Hiccup your final exam is tomorrow!"

What now?

"You know you're going to have to kill a-" The girl whispered, as though that would change anything. "Kill a dragon."

_What?_

"Don't remind me."

Toothless wondered if it was coincidence that at that every moment he heard the summons of the Great One. He no longer felt compelled to follow, he'd heard the command too often when he literally couldn't comply that now it no longer affected him. However he could still hear it, and knew the power it held over the other dragons. They could not help but flock to the cave, and if they had not gathered enough in their travels, they would be killed. If His Human had plans to kill one of the poor souls that had not made it out of the village, then Toothless could only show him the truth behind the raids and hope the revelation changed something. The humans had to protect their village, but they had to know that the dragons were just as desperate for the food, for life, as them. They had to know why, if only His Human and the female, his mate, knew the truth.

He banked to the side, following the summons to the cave, determined to show the Vikings the Great One and explain the dragon's behavior.

"Toothless, what's happening. Whoa! What is it?"

The Nightfury banked as a Bodyburn appeared through the cloud. The humans crouched low as dragon's appeared on all sides, though the creatures never gave the Nightfury and his riders a second glance. Toothless could sense the fear in the Vikings as more and more flying creatures appeared, but he knew they were safe and therefore paid it little mind. Soon the air was filled with the sounds of dragon's screeches and the heavy flapping of wings.

"What's going on?" The female asked.

"I don't know." His Human replied, moving to put a head on the dragon's head. "Toothless, you've got to get us out of here."

The dragon gave his head a sharp twist, throwing off the teen's touch. The humans needed to see this.

"Look's like they're hauling in their kill." His Human observed.

"Ugh. What does that make us?"

The humans were quiet after that as Toothless flew the familiar, twisting path to the great one's lair, his attention never wavering as he followed the oft-traveled path into the center of the mountain.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this."

Toothless shook his head slightly as he flew through the mist. The boy would not feel the same when he saw who truly lived in the cave. For the first time he strayed from the course of the other dragons, flying high into the rafters where they all fled as quickly as possible. He waited as the dragons gave up their offerings to the Great One and the humans stiffen in confusion at the familiar sight of the dragons dropping food into the chasm.

"It's satisfying to know that all our food has been dropped in a hole." His Human said, bitter and sarcastic. Just wait.

"They're not eating any of it."

Just then, a Boulderbiter came into view, stupidly only having half a fish to offer. How that was possible Toothless would never know. Boulderbiters didn't even eat meat, how could the dragon bring so little offering without even the excuse that hunger had driven him to eat his intended gift. The Great One would not be happy. As sorry he was for the poor portly soul with the meager offering, he knew that this was exactly what the humans needed to see.

Sure enough once the dragon dropped his pathetic gift, barely a moment went by before a giant maw appeared from within the cavern's depths, swallowing the Boulderbiter in a single bite.

"What is that?" The female asked, voice encompassed by terror.

His Human pat the Nightfury's neck as the Great One began slipping back down into the cave. "Alright bud, we've gotta get out of here. Now."

But it was too late. The Great One saw him and, enraged at the sight of the deputy he'd thought dead, lunged, causing the entire cave to erupt in panic. A whirlpool of dragon's spiraled for the scant opening at the top, and the Nightfury was lost among a sea of bodies attempting to escape the Great Ones fury. A snap of jaws landed close enough for Toothless to feel hot breath at the tip of the healthy part of his tail. They just made it out of the cave, the dragon falling back into his home as Toothless managed to fly through the opening.

"Woah, woah!" The female said as they landed back in the cove on Berk. "It totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and she's the queen. She controls them. Let's find you're dad!"

"No! No!" His Human protested. Toothless was beginning to think 'dad' was a bad thing for humans. "No! Not yet. They'll kill Toothless." Yes, dad was certainly a bad thing. "No, Astrid we have to think this through carefully."

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?"

Toothless objected to the term pet.

"Yes." His Human replied, standing strong and sure, confident in a way he never was weeks ago. It held a tone of certainty and leadership that had even the strong willed female pausing.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?"

"Just give me until tomorrow. I'll think of something."

"Okay." Suddenly the girl punched His Human, and the Nightfury had to fight back a growl, but it seemed more like the play fighting of hatchlings so he ignored it. He even shrugged when his Human looked to him for explanation. "That's for kidnapping me." But then suddenly their lips were touching and His Human was looking dreamy. "That's for everything else."

The girl turned back and ran for the village, but his human didn't move. Toothless slid up to him, looking at the boy with wide eyes. The boy stumbled with his words, babbling nonsensically. "What are you looking at?" The boy turned and followed the girl to the village, still seeming to be in a happy daze. Toothless snorted. Humans were strange.

* * *

Toothless was napping in the dappled sunlight in his cove when the sound of His Human screaming in absolute terror seemed to shoot through the air. He jerked awake, a sudden, horrifying thought running through his mind. His Human wouldn't kill the dragon. But then, what was stopping the dragon from killing him?

Immediately it was as though he was given an extra dose of strength, and for the first time ever he was desperate enough to claw his way out of the cove. Within seconds he was rushing through the woods, only one thought encompassing his mind. He must protect His Human.

His Human was in a giant cage, his people scattered around, just watching as a Bodyburn loomed over the boy, his claws keeping the child from moving. Fury welled up in the dragon's stomach, showing itself as a purple plasma bolt, shooting out of his mouth to tear through the metal of the pathetic human structure and push His Human away from the dragon attempting to hurt him. Toothless battled the beast, biting, kicking, and clawing until the monster was pushed away from His Human. Even as the Burnbody bucked and weaved, the Nightfury refused to let him near his precious friend. But the Burnbody wasn't stupid. It knew that it could not battle a Nightfury and win. So with a final dominating cry of the black striker, the other dragon conceded and slunk away.

Then His Human was upon him, pushing him to run and save himself. He couldn't, not without His Human. The Vikings had caged His Human and forced him to fight, tried to force him to kill a dragon and would have left him to die if he failed. Toothless would not leave his human here with them. Even as Vikings swarmed the cage, the Nighfury would not leave his friend.

His Human was begging the Vikings not to attack, pleading with Toothless to leave, and praying for 'dad' to leave Toothless alone, but it was all for naught. Battle commence, the dragon throwing humans left and right until he came face to face with the human Great One whom was certainly to blame for all. But through the chaos, cries, and scream, one voice rose above the rest. His Human. "NO!" And Toothless stopped, looking to His Human in confusion, but, as always, willing to listen.

He was immediately set upon by Vikings, but made little movement in protest. His Human had said no, and he would listen. Soon he could barely move even if he wanted to. He was dragged, growling and snarling, but not actually fighting, into a cage. Trapped once more. And he doubted that theses Vikings would be as merciful as His human had been.

* * *

The next morning he was met with dozens of Vikings, all with weapons and chains. But he had been bound tight the night before, and could not fight enough to gain his freedom. They drug him onto a boat, His Human nowhere in sight, and locked him down so tight he could barely fidget, let alone thrash enough to actually fight. As they prepared to lauch he cried out, looking for his human as he vainly struggled against the bonds, but he was not to be seen. AS the boats head off to sea the dragon settled somewhat in despair. Who knew what these Vikings had done to his friend? Only one thing was sure, Toothless would likely not live to see him again.

The human Great One came to stand near the dragon's head. "Lead us home, devil."

Needless to say the dragon's names for the human were much less complimentary.

He refused to react as the humans made their way through the sea. He knew where they intended to go and knew that it was suicide. But before long he heard the summons, that sweet song of beckoning running thought the air, and he could not stop the twitch of his ears. Apparently that was what the Vikings were searching for, for at that moment they fixed their previously errant course, heading straight to the Great One's lair. Toothless wanted to collapse on himself. They were all going to die. But he couldn't.

The Great One's call was stronger, geared specifically for him, the errant servant. He no longer had an easy time of resisting, and his head shot to where the cry compelled him, giving the human clear directions on where to go. Each time the boat strayed from the course, the Nightfury's head turned to where they needed to go, until the boat finally grounded and could go no more. Only then did the dragon begin thrashing once more, the summons compelling him forward when he could no longer move, but the Vikings, having gotten what they wanted out of him, paid him no more mind. Their focus was wholly concentrated on the island, and their pride that would soon be their doom.

He watched as the dragons inside the cavern fled the anger of the Great One. Horror filling him as the humans celebrated, foolishly thinking that they had won. His thrashing only increased. The Great One would be coming, coming for him, coming for the humans. Non would leave alive. They were nothing but a great for him, and he was nothing but a snack that couldn't escape. And still the humans celebrated like the morons they were. At least their leader seemed to understand, calling for the human's to remain ready for a fight. They weren't listening, too relieved with the victory to be prepared for the battle to come. As if they could ever be prepared for something such as the Great One.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and dust filled the gaping hole of the cavern and all celebration stopped. The Great One was coming. Finally they seemed to realize the folly of their pride as the very mountain broke apart as the Great One emerged, several times bigger than any creature the humans had seen, let alone battled. Toothless could only watch in horror as the Vikings foolishly still attempted to fight rather than immediately fleeing for the boats. Their heaviest and strongest weapons only bounced against his hide as though they were mere pebbles. Still the stobbourn Vikings attempted to fight, as if they actually thought they had a chance. Soon it was too late, with a powerful burst of flame any attempt of escape was cut off as the ships burned and fell into the sea.

Toothless cried out in terror as the boar he was on burst into flames, the bindings still keeping him from escaping to safety. Soon he knew the ship would fall into the sea with him still bound. His survival would soon dwindle into minutes. Not that the Vikings would have much more time. But even as the ship began to smolder and sink, Toothless saw hope arrive in the form of a fire blast and four dragons. His Human had arrived, and brought with him his female and four other young humans, each one atop a dragon and ready to battle the Great One. Even as Toothless felt a stab of joy in seeing his human again, he was nearly overcome with dismay. His Human was in danger yet again, and this time the dragon could do nothing to help. Unless… Toothless let out a loud bellow, drawing the attention of His Human to him.

Immediately the boy was there, tearing off his, extremely ineffective, muzzle and working to release the chains. Yet just as Toothless thought that His Human could release him, that they could battle the monster that had haunted his kind for so long together, all hope was dashed with one step of the Great One. The creature's huge paw decimated the ship, sending the Nightfury, still tightly bound, falling into the ice cold sea.

His Human fell in as well, and began swimming for him immediately, pulling at the chains in attempt to free the dragon. But despite the strength of the boy's heart and mind, his muscles were weak, as were his lungs, and he lost air long before he could make any form of difference. The boy's eyes began to drift closed, and Toothless cried out in fear and horror as the boy's limbs went weak, seconds before the human Great On, dad, tore the child away. Toothless felt a cold hand grip his heart. His Human could not save him. Any other human _would_ not save him. The mighty dragon closed his eyes as he resigned himself for the death that lay ahead.

Suddenly he felt hands grip the collar that kept him bound, and the dragon's eyes shot open to see the human Great One standing over him, hands straining against the restricting metal. With a mighty heave of his bare hands, the Viking tore the collar in two, and suddenly the Nightfury was free. The dragon locked eyes with the human and laid his claws into the human's armor, pulling the human out of the deep waves, perhaps saving the man's life just as the man had saved his. He laid the man onto the rocky shore, eyes scanning for His Human as he attempted to hover in the air. Spotting the boy took no time, the boy still directly by the sea, and with a wave of his head the Nightfury beckoned the boy over, feeling an overwhelming sense of right as the boy settled onto his back.

"Hiccup!" Dad called, running to clutch the boy's arm. "I'm - For everything."

"Yeah, me too."

"You don't have to go up there."

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard."

"I'm proud to call you my son."

"Thanks Dad."

The moment over, the boy crouched on the dragon's back, and with a powerful burst of coal black legs and a mighty flap of the wings, boy and dragon were airborne, ready to fight a foe the likes of which had never been battled before.

As the two joined the battle, the first thing Toothless saw was the Great One's jaws seconds away from snapping up a Spearspine and His Human's female. Immediately the dragon opened his mouth prepping a plasma blast and hearing the telltale whine of power as he reached ultimate speed.

"Nightfury!" One of the human's cried, and he distantly heard the sound of the Vikings crouching behind their shields, gaining what meager protection they could get. They knew his prowess, his strength. They knew to fear his firepower, accuracy, and speed. They had learned that he was not one to be trifled with. It was time to teach the Great One.

With a blast to the mouth the Great One lost his edge, his head falling back as pain as girl and dragon spiraled away. Toothless' speed never wavered flying past the beast's head to grip the girl out of the air.

"Did you get her?"

Of course he did. Of course, it never hurt to check. The dragon looked down at there he grasped the foot of His Human's female. The girl smiled at him, despite her precarious position, and Toothless found himself unable to resist responding in reply. His Human had chosen well. Spinning the girl to upright position, he set her on the ground, turning with his human to face the Beast. They had to defeat the Great One now, for the sake of the humans, for the sake of the dragons, for the sake of them all. The Great One's tyranny had lasted too long, ruined too many lives, both human and dragon, and it needed to stop. Toothless could not have defeated him, His Human certainly could not have, not even with the power of his whole tribe. Together, the Great One didn't have a chance.

"He has wings!" His Human noticed. Really? Well he'd certainly never used them. "Let's see if he can use them."

Good question, Toothless wanted to know too. The Great One was big and bulky, doubtlessly slow, while the air was the Nightfury's playground. Here would be the advantage. The dragon turned in a sharp dive, putting the full force of his fall into a plasma blast, aiming straight for the sensitive spot directly above the wing joint. The Great One immediately crumbled, struck by the pain that arose from striking that sensitive spot. Nothing would have angered the beast more.

"Think that did it?" His Human asked, but the huge dragon was already in the air, mammoth wings flapping clumsily as it followed the nimble Nightfury. "Well he can fly."

Not well. Toothless weaved through the rocks surrounding the islands hearing as the creature's wings tore through the mighty pillars like mounds of dirt, the Great One's focus completely locked onto him.

Toothless looked up to the sky, seeing the black clouds sitting above their fight. They would give him camoflauge that the Great One could never achieve, not with it's bulk. As though reading his mind His Human bent low over his neck. "Okay Toothless, time to disappear. Come on bud."

"Here it comes!" The boy yelled, just as a burst of flame lit the air behind them, though the bulky blast was easily avoided. Finally they had reached the cover of the clouds, the Nightfury's small dark form disappearing almost immediately. The Great One tossed it's head from side to side, but could see nothing. Therefore it had no defense as plasma blast after plasma blast bit into the painful flesh of his wings. However, when one had power it did not always need finesse, and the beast let out a long, powerful stream of fire, nearly setting the entire area of the cloud alight. Toothless weaved and avoided the best he could, mindful of the human on his back, but could not avoid it completely. Soon he felt the lingering tickle of flames along the back of his tail, and he knew that the human made substitute was gone.

"Okay, times up. Let's see if this works."

He banked, shouting abuse along with His Human as he baited the beast into following them into a steep dive. Even as he shot ahead of the Great One, barely maintaining his lead, he could feel his control slipping. His human could feel it as well, begging the dragon to keep it together for just a few moments longer.

"Hold Toothless." He commanded, and the dragon could feel tension buzzing through him. He was ready. Soon he could feel the telltale heat of a dragon preparing to fire.

"Now!" And he spun, letting out his most powerful plasma blast to date, directly into the waiting mouth of the Great One, searing the beast's delicate insides and setting off the chain reaction of death.

The Great One roared in pain as the heat shriveled up its wings, and unquenchable fire sitting in its throat and tearing into its flesh. The beast fell to the ground, body exploding as it smashed into unforgiving rock, and Toothless found himself desperately flying through it's spikes, trying to avoid the flames that were so deadly for His Human. But the human-made part of his tail was gone, and with it any semblance of control. With horror he looked up to see the Great One's tail falling to them, and he knew that he had to way to avoid it.

As the blow struck dragon and boy were separated, but immediately after the ignition impact Toothless sought his friend. The human was unconscious, slowly falling to the flames below. With furious, powerful wingstrokes the dragon sped for his good companion, teeth fitting over one of his legs just enough to get a good enough hold to fold his body around his human. But by then they were already close to the ground, and though Toothless was able to protect the frail human body from the crushing blow, the impact jarred his jaw, and it closed with a snap, and His Human was now just as crippled as he.

Slowly the smoke and dust cleared, and humans flocked to the dragon, dad arriving first and falling to his knees before the dragon. For a moment Toothless was too weak to move, but finally he was able to unfurl, showing the man that the boy was safe, if not whole. The man yelled for his son, immediately clutching him and moving an ear to the boy's chest. "He's alive! You brought him back alive!"

The man placed a hand on the mighty dragon's brow, more gentle than he'd believed any Viking could be.

"Thank you, for saving my son."

"Well," Another Viking said as he neared. "You know, most of him."

Toothless, utterly exhausted, merely let his head fall back down, moving little as the Vikings prepared the few ships that had not been destroyed. He allowed the other dragons to coax him onto his feet only when they were ready to go, and could only stumble to the nearest ship before collapsing once more, watching dad clutch His Human, holding him with a gentle yet firm embrace. He heard the man whisper once more that he was proud of his son before finally succumbing to sleep.

* * *

The next few days were absolute torture. All His Human did was sleep. The dragon knew that the boy was recovering, that he had a lot that needed to recover, but that didn't make the days of sitting beside the prone boy's bedside any either. Especially not when he could hear the sounds of the dragons adjusting to life on Berk. Finally the large Viking could ignore his duties as leader no more, and Toothless was left alone with His Human. The dragon whimpered lowly, nudging the boy with his muzzle and sniffing him, but still the boy slept on. The Nightfury lent back and called to his friend, feeling a stab of pure joy when the pair of green eyes blinked open. He immediately moved to muzzle the boy, cooing his welcome to the child.

"Hey, Toothless."

The spark of joy became an inferno, and Toothless couldn't help nudging and nuzzling the teen with ever increasing energy.

"Happy to see you too bud."

Unfortunately the dragon's enthusiasm went too far, one of his heavy legs landed on the boy's stomach, making the boy jerk up with a loud groan. Toothless jumped away in alarm, but couldn't hide the joy he felt as he jumped around the human den, exploring it truly for the first time as he enthusiastically jumped from place to place. The dragon, in his eleation, paid no mind as human devices broke or crumpled under his weight, his focus only on the excess energy that he'd been bundling up as he sat at the boy's bedside.

"Uh, you're in my house. Um, _you're _in my house! Does my dad know you're here?"

Of course, dad liked him now.

"Toothless, no, no Toothless." The boy called as the dragon clawed his way up to th rafter and roosted on the thick beam. "Toothless! Aw come on-" suddenly the boy's voice cut off, his face falling to surprised dismay and Toothless cooed in sympathy, remembering the mix of dread and horror as he realized that he was crippled. It wasn't so bad though, it hadn't been for Toothless and it wouldn't be for His Human. The dragon watched as the boy threw off his blankets, revealing the wood and metal leg that the human with half his limbs had made for the young Viking. It would be different, worlds different, but His Human was strong, he would endure. He could still walk and, more importantly, fly. It wouldn't be perfect, and it would never be the same as before, but they could endure. After all, they were both far from alone.

Toothless crouched near as His Human attempted to stand, there for support, both physical and emotional, and ready to help in any way he could. He let the teen take his first step alone, but was there immediately when he started to fall.

"Thanks bud."

Toothless said nothing as the boy leaned on him. His Human helped him to fly again, he would do anything to help the boy walk. It was just what friends did.

The boy pulled the heavy door open, but shut it immediately at the sound of a dragon's roar, a Bodyburn mere meters from the den. "Toothless, stay here." He commanded, to the Nightfury's befuddled amusement. Even if they were still in danger from the Bodyburns, what did the human think he could do that Toothless could not? However, the dragon had little time to ponder this before the boy opened the door again, and the loud angry young human's voice sounded.

"Okay guys, get ready, hold on tight, let's go!" And the human flew off on the back of the Bodyburn, the other teens following on the backs of the Spearspine, Boulderbiter, and Secondskull. Toothless could feel the human's amazement as he watched the dragons wander through the village, living beside the Vikings in utter peace.

"I knew it, I'm dead."

A low chuckling sounded as dad neared, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "No, but you gave it your best shot. So, what do you think?"

Toothless slunk silently away, giving the humans their moment. He watched with pride as the Vikings surrounded His Human, pride and amazement in their tone as they celebrated the boy's health. Well, no problem with double tasking. He was hungry and he was pretty sure he'd seen a basket of fish in the human den. He would let the humans have their moment as he ate, though he was only giving them three fish's time before he returned for his human, not a second more.

Okay, maybe four.

Five, but just because he'd been too worried lately to eat. He was just going for his sixth when he heard the familiar clank of metal and rub of fabric that was the human-thing for his back, and all concerns about dinner left him. His Human wanted to fly. He heard the familiar cry of "Nightfury!" as he burst through the door and made his way through the crowd, but he paid no mind to the yeller, his eyes locked onto his human friend, who had the back-thing in his arms. Within seconds the familiar leather ties were tight around his body, the boy's familiar weight upon his back, and the boy's metal foot fell into place. His tail fell out, plump and ready, and anticipation flowed through his veins.

"You ready?" As if he even had to ask.

And they were off.


End file.
